Word on the Street: One Year In, What’s Next, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “What began as a personal Substack is becoming something larger: a home for voices across the J Street world. Going forward, you’ll not only hear from me, but also from other members of our senior team — including our Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, Ilan Goldenberg — as well as our Policy Center Fellows and other occasional guest voices.”
US Suspends Most Visas for Palestinian Passport-Holders, Reports Say, BBC
“US officials have further restricted visitor visas for Palestinians, by denying them to almost all applicants who use a Palestinian passport, media reports say. The development comes days after 80 Palestinian officials were denied visas ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.”
Belgium to Recognize Palestinian State at UN General Assembly, Impose Sanctions on Israel, The Times of Israel
“Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announced Tuesday, adding that sanctions will be imposed on the Israeli government.”
Deadly Israeli Strikes Rain Down as IDF Advances Push to Take Gaza City, NBC
“By Saturday, Israel’s latest assault had rained down on a city already buckling under famine, disease and displacement. […] Israeli strikes killed at least 70 people across the strip on Saturday, 47 of them in Gaza City alone, Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry, told NBC News.”
Israel Weighs West Bank Annexation Over Western Nations’ Recognition of Palestinian State, CNN
“Israel is weighing the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank in retaliation for an expected wave of Palestinian statehood recognition by Western nations this month, two Israeli officials said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene a meeting with top cabinet ministers on Thursday to discuss Israel’s response.”
The Winter Will Be a Catastrophe’ | Gaza Faces Deadly Respiratory Outbreak Amid War, Hunger, and Medicine Shortage, Haaretz
“In Gaza, health officials are warning of a sharp rise in respiratory infections – likely flu or COVID – that have already sickened thousands. The outbreak is spreading fastest among displaced families crowded into tents and shelters without sanitation, where children and the chronically ill are especially vulnerable.”
Leading Genocide Scholars Organization Says Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza, AP
“The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”
High Court Unanimously Urges Netanyahu Government to Cancel AG’s Dismissal, Haaretz
“Israel’s High Court of Justice announced on Monday that it recommends the government cancel the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and instead bring the matter before the committee that appointed her.”
From Scapegoat to Pretext: How Trump Is Weaponizing Antisemitism for Political Gain, The Jerusalem Post
Sebastien Levi writes, “As with issues like immigration, crime, or rising prices, Trump does not seek to solve problems but to seize them in order to discredit and trap his opponents. The king of political instrumentalization has found in antisemitism a winning formula.”
The Battle for the Soul of Israel, Financial Times
Fania Oz-Salzberger writes, “Here’s a truth to reckon with: neither Israelis nor Palestinians are going to disappear any time soon. No one can destroy their respective claims to a sovereign state in their ancestral homeland, which happens to be the same land. Barring a cataclysmic event, there will be no river-to-sea Palestine and no Greater Israel. This is a conflict that can only be solved by territorial and political compromise.”